Ford Motor and logistics firm DP World have conducted a trial with a simulated autonomous delivery vehicle to demonstrate how useful the technology could be to those managing large worksites.

The initiative at DP World’s London Gateway is part of Ford’s self-driving research programme, designed to help businesses understand how autonomous vehicles could benefit their operations. To explore the potential impact upon courier services and doorstep deliveries, the DP World trial tested how recipients managed when accessing self-driving delivery vehicles themselves.

The intention behind the pilot is to identify opportunities and models for autonomous vehicle operations, in particular understanding how existing processes and human interactions can work alongside automated vehicles.

“It was incredible to see how enthusiastically the team at DP World embraced working with the support of a self-driving vehicle,” said Richard Balch, director of autonomous vehicles and mobility at Ford of Europe. “We are continuing to work very closely with our customers to learn how these vehicles can benefit their businesses and it is exciting to see first-hand the impact this can have across a diverse range of locations. What worked so well at DP World premises could equally be of benefit at universities, airports and manufacturing facilities.”

Ford has been testing self-driving technology in major cities across the USA in partnership with Argo AI. The company plans to invest around $7bn in autonomous vehicles during the ten years to 2025, with $5bn of that from 2021 forward, as part of its mobility initiatives.

DP World London Gateway – one of the UK’s fastest growing ports – is 40km east of central London and already embraces automated technology as an intrinsic part of its operations as a deep-sea container port.

For the trial, Ford used a specially adapted Transit fitted out to mimic the look of an actual self-driving vehicle with a driver concealed within a human car seat. Employees at the company’s reception building loaded packages into secure lockers in the rear of the Transit. Then, at set delivery times, the Transit travelled to the main reception 3.5km away so colleagues there could retrieve them in the normal way staff currently retrieve packages from reception themselves. While time consuming, these trips do not warrant a full-time driver.

Every step of the process was monitored by researchers who also conducted interviews with those who took part, before, during and after the trial. They found employees quickly became comfortable with using the specially equipped van. Some proactively trained colleagues to access their packages, while others were resourceful in overcoming difficulties intentionally introduced by the researchers, such as the wrong parcels being stowed in the wrong lockers.

“Having what appeared to be a self-driving vehicle on site created a real buzz,” said Ernst Schulze, UK chief executive of DP World. “Everyone wanted to use it. Popping in the car to pick up a package from elsewhere on site might not seem like it takes that long, but across multiple journeys over weeks, months and years, this can add up to a lot of time and money.”

Along with the port of Tilbury and Ford Dagenham, DP World London Gateway will form Thames Freeport. The UK government awarded the partners freeport status earlier this year. The partners are progressing the business case, with freeport tax site status being awarded in November, on their journey to receiving formal accreditation.